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Start-up Story: MisterDrinkster

MisterDrinkster is a website where users are invited to pre-purchase a drink voucher or club entry token either before leaving home or on their smartphone.

In return the users typically receive a discount of 50-80% off the standard bar prices. They can then redeem their chosen voucher at the selected bar.

Not only does this give users the opportunity to try out new, hip bars. It also removes the painful headache of the financial hangover the next morning.

Why did we start

I lived in Berlin three years ago and saw that many promoters handed out vouchers where people could save a certain percentage on drinks and entrance fees, but that people were throwing out the vouchers because the promoters were not able to target relevant customers.

Therefore, there was an incentive to bring all this online, offering the vouchers via the web instead. This way there is a better chance of targeting the right customers, while the bars/clubs will save the cost related to printing and handing out vouchers.

Where do we see it going

Our goal is to offer our service nationally; meaning offering drink deals in every major city in the UK. We really believe this is possible as we have set up a plan to execute this and already have had a great start with thousands of users joining us just 1½ after release.

We need to get in contact with more people that are willing to become a MisterDrinkster representative in different cities so that they can take care of establishing partnership with local bars, pubs and nightclubs.

Furthermore, we have worked hard on raising finance and been so fortunate that investors have also approached us. This will allow MisterDrinkster to spend more money on marketing, which in return will help the business obtain more users

What we have learned

Managing time is extremely difficult. When starting up a business there are so many tasks that need to be done. You can quickly lose track of what you are doing and where you should put your focus on. It is good to be a bit “crazy” sometimes and not plan ahead, but I think what I have realized is that having a plan and strictly sticking to it will help managing time much better.

Tips for other businesspeople starting out

I believe it is very important to have a plan for how to get those first (100-1000) customers within a relatively short period. No one knows your brand so how will you spread the word about your service or product? Getting those initial customers is, I believe, one of the hardest tasks a startup will have and it requires weeks if not months of preparation, and some very creative and innovative marketing ideas.

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